


The Reason

by YurikoNeko (AlaxxisSade)



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Basketball, Crossdressing, Crush, F/M, KnB - Freeform, Oneshot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-08
Updated: 2014-09-08
Packaged: 2018-02-16 15:39:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,357
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2275257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlaxxisSade/pseuds/YurikoNeko
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>I've been looking for you, but I never see you... How can anyone be so invisible?!</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Reason

**Author's Note:**

> Another oneshot written for a senpai~

Brow creased in concentration, legs bent and ready… I launched myself skyward and watched as the ball sailed gracefully from my fingers—and entered the hoop with a soft ‘whoosh’.

                “Yes!”

                A clean shot--! I pumped my fist into the air triumphantly. Haha, if only someone else could’ve seen that—

                “Wow. Amazing.”

                I jumped so high I swore I could’ve dunked.

                “Ah. Sorry if I scared you.”

                That mild manner of speaking did nothing to calm me down. Questions whirred through my head so quickly I felt dizzy, and the first thing that left my mouth was—

                “W-what are you?”

                Those odd blue eyes seemed to darken a bit. “That’s mean, Keito-kun. I’m not a ghost, you know.”

                H-he… knows my name… But he said he wasn’t a ghost, so…

                The longer I kept silent, the more depressed he seemed to get. And instead of feeling guilty, all I felt was… the overwhelming urge to pet his head.

                If he wasn't a ghost… then maybe he was a puppy spirit in disguise?

 

“I’m Kuroko Tetsuya.”

                I nearly sprayed the mouthful of soda I just drank. And he looked even more hurt at my reaction.

                “We’re in the same class, you know.”

                Of course I knew! How could I not know?

                “…Why are you looking at me with sparkly eyes now?”

                I didn’t trust myself to speak yet, not until I was sure I wasn't going to choke, but I suppose I couldn’t hide how excited I’d gotten. Kuroko Tetsuya! Teiko’s mysterious sixth man! Our team’s new rookie secret weapon! And… my classmate.

                The irrepressible exhilaration died down a little.

                “…And now you’re upset.” Kuroko tilted his head aside curiously. “Can you tell me why?”

                “We’re in the same class,” I said, sounding more offended than I should. “And yet I’ve never seen you in class, or talked to you face to face. Even though I’ve been to every one of your matches since you joined Seirin… and I’ve been watching you play since you were in Teiko even…”

                Yeah, I went to every match I could, and I’ve been watching him for years—And yet, I couldn’t even recognize him when he came up to talk to me of his own accord… Every time I heard his name called, every time I turned around frantically just to catch a glimpse of him, he just simply wasn't there.

                I pulled my knees up to my chest, frustrated and a bit embarrassed. “No one can be _that_ invisible.”

                “…No. No one can.”

                The silence stretched between us for a while longer, until he stood up suddenly and picked up the ball I’d left in the middle of the street court. Watching my idol do what he did best… I couldn’t help but sneak a peek from where I supposedly had my hand buried between my knees.

                He dribbled, he shot… and he missed.

                “Pff… I knew it, you still can’t shoot that well… Haha…” I knew I shouldn’t have, but I laughed anyway. So I guess you could say I deserved it when I looked up only to see him uncomfortably close to me, staring at me with eyes full of hurt.

                “That’s mean, Keito-kun.”

                “Uwaa--!” I fell off the bench in my efforts to distance us, and he very understandably didn’t reach out to help me.

 

“Come on, Kuroko-kun, I said I’m sorry…”

                “No.”

                “Don’t be offended…”

                “No.”

                I sighed. Who knew he not only looked like a puppy, he acted like one too? One who’s been denied his bone, maybe.

                “Kuroko-kun… Pass.”

                If he wasn't going to talk to me… then maybe he could play with me?

                As I expected, he caught and returned the ball I threw at him with ease, as though reflexively. I ran forward, passing back to him—We went on like that, back and forth, until I came to the hoop, and then both of us seemed to wait with bated breath as the ball went sailing once again—

_“Yes!”_

This time, two voices shouted in unison, and he held his hand out for a high-five, so I—gave him a hug instead.

                “K-Keito-kun…”

                It hadn’t dawned on me immediately how weird that would’ve seemed to him, so when I saw his beetroot face I couldn’t understand at first. Then I remembered I wasn't playing with my old team anymore, and after that I couldn’t jump away from him fast enough.

                “S-sorry--!” I bowed hastily. “I—I--”

                “…You love basketball, don’t you?”

                “…Huh?” I looked up from my bow, to see him smiling at me gently.

                “I’ve see you playing around here. You play well, and you practice hard… Why don’t you join the team?”

                “I--” Looking at his outstretched hand again, I couldn’t say the words that were in the back of my throat. “I can’t.”

                The disappointment on his face was like a punch to my gut. “Why, Keito-kun? Tell me the reason?”

                “I--”

                “Is it because we’re a small team who can’t hope to win?”

                “I--”

                “Is it because our coach is so scary and our captain is… our captain?”

                “No, I--”

                “Or is it maybe because you don’t like--”

                “Kuroko-kun!” I interrupted him before he came up with any more crazy theories. “I’m sorry I can’t join the team, Kuroko-kun, because—

                “—I’m a girl.”

*

An hour after Keito bid him goodbye, he still couldn’t wrap his head around what had happened.

                Keito-kun was actually… Keiko-chan?

                Dressing as a boy because her father had always wanted a son instead of a daughter, what kind of a reason was that…

                He remembered how they had played together, feeling both happy and a bit low. So that was how it felt like to play with Keit—Keiko-chan. It was just as good as he always imagined… which made him kinda lonely to think that they would never play on the same court, as part of the same team…

                _“Kuroko-kun… I really wasn't trying to insult you when I said you were bad at shooting.”_

He remembered again how she had smiled, the way her eyes were focused completely on the ball even as she spoke to him.

                _“In fact, that’s one of the things I like the most about you, Kuroko-kun.”_

The way her body arched through the air, the way his heart seemed to beat faster—

                _“Because no matter how good Kuroko-kun gets, Kuroko-kun can never, no,_ will _never play alone.”_

The way she smiled at him, a light so bright it made him, the shadow, feel that much more alive.

                _“Kuroko-kun is the best team player. And Kuroko-kun will never be alone._ ”

                He had been watching her play for some time now. At first he had stumbled across her playing alone in this court, and when she failed to notice him he had somehow failed to leave. Then he realized that she was in the same class as him, and every time she looked his way, he would make an extra effort not to be found. He had always wondered why—doesn’t he dislike it when people say he disappears?

                He hated it even more when she didn’t seem to know who he was. And yet, it had taken him all the courage he had to talk to her—

                It was worth it, though. He found out so much. He found out that she knew him after all, which made him relieved. He found out that she watched his matches, which made him embarrassed, but kinda happy. He found out that she had been looking for him, and was upset when she couldn’t find him, which made him upset too, and a little annoyed at himself. He found out that it wasn't just the way she played that made his heart race, but also the way she smiled, and the things she said—

                Oh. And he found out she was a girl.

                His face burned up again at that thought, and the memory of how soft her body felt when she had hugged him instinctively, the way she used to hug her teammates on her junior high team.

                She was a girl. So maybe… that was the reason why…


End file.
